Youngster cuts ribbon at digital X-ray suite

Roman Myers, six, from Lowedges, was one of the first children to be X-rayed by the machine when he fell and fractured his elbow while playing with his friends.

His mother Leanne Myers, said: “When he had the accident it was really scary for both of us because no one in the family had broken a bone before.

“Roman’s elbow was in a very nasty state. The doctors said it was dislocated and that’s why they used the new machine so that they wouldn’t have to move him around for the x-rays and make it worse for him.”

Roman was joined at the opening ceremony by some of the project donors, who helped The Children’s Hospital Charity to raise more than £250,000 towards the equipment.

The charity’s director, David Vernon-Edwards, said: “Thanks to everyone who donated to this project, more than 20,000 children a year will benefit from faster and easier x-rays.

“The suite uses lower doses of radiation, making it safer, and the high resolution images mean the x-rays are even more accurate.”

Roman said: “It’s really cool that I got to cut the ribbon.

“All my friends think I’m really brave and thought it was great I got to pick the colour red for my pot to match my favourite team.”

Chris Heafey, the radiologist for Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, said the new technology will make “a massive difference”.

He added: “When they are seriously hurt, the last thing they need is to be moved around and put into painful positions for the x-rays.

“This machine means that we can move around them, and the images are available while they’re still on the table, allowing us to check that we’ve got everything we need almost instantly.”